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I believe I had to alter the stance just a tad but it was because of the tires I used. The model looked way too high with the kit tires, which is the one on the right in this picture but even after going with the one on the left, I felt it was still a bit too high. Hosted on Fotki These were the tires I used.... Hosted on Fotki

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Built basically out of box. Used the tires from the AMT tires pack for the white walls, wasn't too crazy with the ones in the kit. Bumpers were Alcladed. Paint is Valspar Rally Red w/ Testor's Wet Look clear. Used Model Car Garage P/E detail set. This model was featured in last month's issue but wanted to share it here just in case you didn't get the mag. I still lowerd the stance just a bit to get a more correct look. I might just be building the newly released Revell Gasser kit and display it in conjunction with this one, I think they would look cool together!! Hosted on Fotki Hosted on Fotki Hosted on Fotki Hosted on Fotki Hosted on Fotki

Very cool bro!!!! Cranky approved!!!

Anyone has some good reference and pictures of the interior and engine?

Thanks Cliff, the color is Camel Met. From Dupli Colors perfect match in the 8oz spray can. The code number is BGM0286.

Like everything, practice is the key, everyone always finds a way to go around the painting process. I do want to apologize publicly to Mitch, I was a little rude to a question that he sent me in a personal message and didn't realize it after a few hours down the road. I have no excuse but to say I am sorry and that I am always here to help. Now, these paints, when shot out of a can definitely do work a little different than let's say the regular Testor's enamels from the can. I still consider the mist coats to be the best way to paint but that's for me, I am sure I can't say the same for everyone. These do cover much quicker than the enamels and you sure can get away with less coats but like everything, practice is the key. I have shot them out of an airbrush and they work terrific but personally, when I am doing a body, I like using them out of the can. I used them to paint this 'Cuda about 4 years ago and as I said, I think the metallics are way too big as seen in this picture: Hosted on Fotki I will say that when you are ready for your wet coats, try to go easier and less heavy because as I said, they cover much quicker than the enamels. I wetsand everything from my primer, to my color coats and of course my clears if I decide to use them, painting is a process in which you need to pace yourself and have a lots of patience.

I wouldn't consider them hot, never had an issue with them when it comes to this. The trick to tone down the metallics on the paint is to hit the color with a Dull Coat once dry and then clear them. This tones down the metallics to scale which I also consider way too big. Hosted on Fotki

Awesome work bro, I am following this one closely!!!!

Mira, hasta mr. Sopla tuvo que admitir lo superior que eres a el pero eso lo sabíamos muchos de nosotros hace tiempo! Jejeje!!!

And yes, they can be bent if need be as seen on the oil dipstick here also.... Hosted on Fotki

I have been having success using hypodermic needles, they come in various gauges and look very convincing, I will let the pictures do the talking..... Hosted on Fotki Hosted on Fotki Hosted on Fotki Hosted on Fotki Hosted on Fotki

As usual, very cool Donn, I am a fan of your work!!!!

Very cool, proof that you don't need to have a million P/E parts and stuff on a model to make it look great!!!

I have also used another method which works great for me. I scribe the lines nice and deep and just dump some acrylic paint onto the trim, capillary action will let the paint flow into the panel lines and then I just finish painting the rest of the trim. I love using Poly Scale acrylics for this, specifically the engine black color because it makes the part look rubbery..... Hosted on Fotki

Turned out gorgeous, I am sure your friend knew you were going to do a spectacular job on it!

Leave it in the solution for as long as it takes, it will not attack the plastic. I've done it on bare plastic and left it in there for a week just for testing purposes and it was okay....

Should have been good at that temperature, can't see what else could do this. Personally, I wait 24 hours before putting my bodies in the dehydrator after painting them but again, that's just me....

You can manually obtain different stages of sheen on any paint my friend if you so desire. For example, if you don't have semi gloss black handy but yet you have gloss black and some clear, you can mix a bit of clear together with the flat black until you get the desired effect. Another way is to shoot light coats of clear onto a flat surface. I am currently building a 250 Testa Rossa and just finished up with the seats. The seats were painted flat red but I wanted a "vinylish" look to it so I sprayed just one coat of clear from a distance using my airbrush and gave the part the desired effect i was going for. This is the seat painted in flat red...... Hosted on Fotki In this phase, it has one coat of clear, just enough for the effect.... Hosted on Fotki Hosted on Fotki

What was the temperature on?

Glad to be of help man.

This is acrylic and yes, it works great. Make sure that it's completely dry if you are planning to polish it. It polishes great also. Just ask Bill Geary, it's the clear of choice for him!!

Here is a link to the painting tutorial I wrote for Scale Auto Magazine, it also addresses the wetsanding and polishing process, hope it works.... http://public.fotki.com/MCRUZ1/scale-auto-mag-pain/

No my friend, I am not laughing or telling you that you are going about it wrong, you are doing what you think is best with the amount of information or experience that you have. Every person goes about it different but the best thing that you are doing is that you are getting your hands dirty, that's always the best way to learn. The first thing I do is address the plastic, you know? Little things like mold lines, indentations in the body or anything that may show up once the body is painted. Remember, paint will only reveal all the faults, you can take that to the bank! If you want to have great results when painting, the foundation work is a must, I can't never stress this enough. If you are using Tamiya primers, you are starting off on the right foot, Tamiya primers are great, personally I just think they are a bit expensive. I use Floquil primers but let's stick with the Tamiya brand since this is the one you are using. I would shoot three coats of the primer and let it dry completely. Let that primer really dry, you want to make sure that when you sand it, it truly feels dry, not humid or anything like that. Yes, you have to sand the primer no matter how smooth it looks on the model. Think about this, in a real 1/1 car scenario, have you ever seen anybody shoot primer and go on to the paint? If you have, your painter should be looking for another job. The primer reveals all the faults on the plastic and gives you the chance to fix anything that might haunt you in the long run. After everything is smooth and you are happy, it's time for the color coats. I see that you mentioned the gold color under the main color that you ultimately wanted to use. Personally, I would do something like that if I were to use something like a candy color which normally is more transparent than let's say an enamel or lacquer based coat. For explanations sake, let's just go with a color and the clear, I don't want to create confusion over what we are trying to explain here, just the basics of painting. You can always practice your gold base and color coats on a spare hood or plastic spoons some other time and see what you get. Okay, lets say you are going with a yellow, this is the color I am using for the explanation because these light colors present bigger challenges than your darker counterparts. First thing you want to do is make sure you get complete and even coverage, very important because you don't want your hood to end up a dark yellow and the body a light yellow. Concentrate on covering all the areas of the body evenly even if you have to count your coats as you go. Personally, what I like to do in these types of cases is, once I have at least 3 to 4 coats of paint on the body, I let these completely dry and then I would place the hood in place and shoot at least 2 more coats, this will reassure that you have an evenly painted surface on the hood and body. Now, I was just explaining the importance of coverage using light colors but I also want to explain the misting process I use no matter what color I decide to go with, it is something I always do. Why misting? Well, if you just shoot one coat and try to get coverage in one pass, you will only be asking for a lot of trouble, trust me when I tell you, please mist your coats. I will do this with the airbrush or the can, it doesn't matter, the process is still the same. Mist your first coat but make sure it is a light mist, just enough to cover the body, it doesn't have to be fully covered, you just want a light mist. Wait 15 to 20 minutes and mist the body again only you are trying to cover more of the body this time. Again wait another 15 to 20 minutes and start with your wet coats. Have you ever noticed how sticky paint gets while it's drying? That "stickiness" helps the next coats to actually stick better to the paint as you go, the chances of getting a run in your paint are a lot less when doing this. Go ahead and wait another 20 minutes and again shoot another wet coat which means that you are actually getting your airbrush or can a little closer to the body. The wetter your coats, the less orange peel you will see at the end but again, be careful, you don't want to see runs at this stage. Following this method, not only would ensure good and even coverage, it will also keep a lot of the details on the body, you know? Important little things like badges or emblems and even body lines. I always end up putting 4 to 5 coats of paint on my cars but I usually don't go any further than that. Let that paint completely dry, read this word again, COMPLETELY! Make sure that paint is dry before handling it and of course make sure your hands are always clean. Look for any small pieces of dust or imperfections and if you find any, grab a 3200 grit sanding cloth and take care of them. Try to fix any little issues but don't go too crazy with the sanding cloth, you just want to work with the fault right at the surface of the paint. When you are satisfied with the results, go ahead and give the body a nice wash and get it ready for clear. Some paints have enough inherent gloss in them that you might want to avoid using clear but it's up to you to decide that. If you do decide to use clear, follow the exact method of misting and wet coats that I just finished explaining, it's as simple as that. This is the method I have always used and it has always worked for me, this doesn't mean that it will work for you or anybody else but one thing is for sure, the basics are addressed and that always means something.